JO #6

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah

Linebacker · Notre Dame

A Butkus Award winner and 2023 Pro Bowler, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's promising career has been put on hold by a serious neck injury.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah entered the NFL as one of the most decorated linebackers in Notre Dame history and quickly became a defensive difference-maker for Cleveland. A neck injury suffered in Week 8 of the 2024 season has since sidelined him through the 2025 season and into 2026, clouding the outlook for a player once viewed as a defensive cornerstone.

★ Butkus Award winner (2020)

★ Unanimous All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2020)

★ Pro Bowl selection (2023)

★ PFWA All-Rookie Team (2021)

Path to the league

Owusu-Koramoah played for Notre Dame from 2017 to 2020, capping his college career with a unanimous All-American selection, ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, and the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker in 2020. The Cleveland Browns drafted him in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he signed a four-year rookie contract worth $6.5 million.

Career highlights

Owusu-Koramoah made an immediate impact in Cleveland, earning a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2021 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2023. His play as a versatile, sideline-to-sideline linebacker made him one of the Browns' defensive leaders before injury derailed his trajectory.

2025 season recap

Owusu-Koramoah did not play in 2025. He suffered a serious neck injury in Week 8 of the 2024 season that forced him to miss the final nine games that year, and he remained on the reserve/physically unable to perform list throughout 2025 as he continued his recovery. As of the 2026 offseason, there was uncertainty about whether he would be able to play again.